Blind spot monitors have been provided on vehicles to alert a driver when an object or vehicle is in a spot that the driver cannot readily see. Blind spot monitors have been placed behind a rear wheel of the vehicle and fixed to the rear panel, with this location allowing the monitor to detect objects that are present in a location not able to be viewed by the driver via side mirrors and/or a rear view mirror. However, blind spot monitors have a sensitive, electromagnetic radiation emitting outer face which can be damaged with impact by debris. Accordingly, there exists a need in the art to provide a structure that will protect the blind spot monitor from debris from the road surface.
Furthermore, automotive blind spot monitors may be designed to be utilized across many different vehicle models to keep cost down, often employing a single modular design that may need to be adapted to a specific vehicle. With this in mind, the structure that protects the blind spot monitor should preferably be both inexpensive and make use of existing mounting structures on the vehicle's panel when possible.
Protective structures that attach to modular blind spot monitors are typically installed by a worker while mounting the blind spot monitor to the vehicle. There are normally at least two blind spot monitors per vehicle and each monitor has its own accompanying protective structure. This means that a worker has to carry and install at least four individual parts for each vehicle. There exists the need for a protective structure that meets all of the aforementioned criteria and can be affixed to the blind spot monitor prior to final installation on a vehicle to reduce both the assembly burden on the worker and the number of individual parts they need to hand carry to the vehicle.